Graduate student Florian Le Pallac led the way for Butler, finishing third at the Big East Championships. Photo courtesy of Butler Athletics. 

CALEB DENORME | ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | cdenorme@butler.edu 

The men’s cross country team ran away with the Big East Cross Country Championship on Oct. 28, capping off an impressive season. This is the third Big East Conference title for the Bulldogs in the past four years, returning to glory after placing fourth in the 2022 Big East Championships. 

The Dawgs were led by graduate student Florian Le Pallec, who placed third with a time of 25:05.45. Redshirt first-year William Zegarski and junior Matthew Forrester came in close behind Le Pallec, finishing in fourth and fifth, respectively. 

Butler edged out Villanova by a score of 36-42. The Wildcats had runners take home the first and second place finishes, but only had one more runner take home a spot in the top 14. Butler had five runners finish in the top 14 spots, demonstrating a strong team showcase to bring home the Big East title. 

Le Pallec, Zegarski, Forrester, redshirt junior Will Minnette, redshirt junior Jesse Hamlin and redshirt senior Jack McMahon earned All-Big East honors for their performance in securing the Big East title for the Dawgs. 

Butler will continue their race towards the national championship in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Verona, Wisconsin on Nov. 10.